<p>I am a Light designer and I have looked everywhere and still cannot figure out what major it falls under. My number 1 college has it listed as a Theatre Arts/Drama major. Most schools I've looked at have Theatre Arts/Drama as an acting major, can someone help.</p>
<p>Well, you have the right major but some schools have specializations within the Theater/Drama department. They’ll offer Lighting or Theater Design or Design and Production programs. The names are different (as are the levels of specialization) but basically it’s all a subset of the Theater/Drama program. </p>
<p>You’ll be more likely find these specializations in a department offering BFA degrees and a conservatory program but not always. Some liberal arts universities offer them as well.</p>
<p>Check the Technical Theater thread on this forum for ideas of good schools around the country that are well known in this area.</p>
<p>Check out CCM at University of Cincinnati. My D’s friend is a lighting design major under their technical theatre program. (And this kid was recruited by more than 35 schools after he presented his portfolio at the Thespian Convention in Texas, so believe me, he has investigated every lighting design program in the country! He was the first person to ever receive callbacks from every college in attendance! Even the girls’ colleges!)</p>
<p>This week I worked through the lists of colleges that are pulled up if you search for Theater Design at:
[College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/]College”>College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics)
[College</a> MatchMaker - Type of School](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)
[College</a> Search - College Confidential](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/]College”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/)</p>
<p>along with the list from [Mike</a> Lawler: Careers in Technical Theater](<a href=“http://www.mikelawler.com/]Mike”>http://www.mikelawler.com/) the design programs listed in the longer Technical Theater thread, and lists provided by Happykid’s tech professor and other friends. This may not be complete, but it is about as close as it is likely to get:</p>
<p>Lighting Design Major offered
Boston University
California Institute of the Arts
Carnegie Mellon
Cornish College of the Arts
DePaul University
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
University of Illinois, Champaign
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
University of Texas
University of Wyoming
Virginia Commonwealth U
Webster U
Western Oregon U</p>
<p>Theater Design Major offered with a Concentration in Lighting
Eastern Carolina U
Point Park U
SUNY at Purchase College
Syracuse U
University of Miami
University of Minnesota Duluth
University of New Mexico-Main Campus
University of South Florida - Tampa, FL</p>
<p>Shenandoah University offers a BFA in scenic and lighting design</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Today I ran the CollegeMatch search engine at [CollegeData:</a> College Search, Financial Aid, College Application, College Scholarship, Student Loan, FAFSA Info, Common Application](<a href=“http://www.collegedata.com/]CollegeData:”>http://www.collegedata.com/) for Theater Design, and found one more program:</p>
<p>University of Kansas at Lawrence offers the BFA in Theater Design with a Concentration in Lighting</p>
<p>DePaul University offers a BFA in Lighting Design, and it falls under the Design/Tech theatre department. The LD majors get a TON of experience. DePaul has a lot of productions every year, and the LD students (and other tech majors) do everything tech-related for the shows. It’s definitely worth looking into.</p>
<p>University of the Arts offers a BFA in Theater Design and Technology with a concentration in lighting and senior year internships with area professional theaters.</p>
<p>Most schools offer the BFA in Design or Design and Technology. That major will encompass LD either as a full emphasis, or simply rolled into the major. Therefore the number of schools with such a major is really rather large.</p>
<p>Hi , don’t forget Ithaca,(Paul Gallo is an alum) you get an amazing experience. NYU under Playwrights Horizon also covers Lighting design, and I happen to know that there are some really working lighting designers who came out of this program!</p>
<p>Depending on what kind of program you are looking for you may find some BA programs that also offer a track or a concentration in design and technology… for example, James Madison University (where I teach in the musical theatre area) offers a BA degree through the School of Theatre & Dance and students can declare a track in design and technology. There are MANY opportunities for students to design, assist faculty and guest designers, work as paid assistants in the electrics (and other shops), etc… </p>
<p>There are other BA programs I know of that also offer these kinds of opportunities in addition to the many BFA programs… often it is a matter of looking at the websites, contacting the schools directly, and exploring the options available. It is all about identifying the schools that will present the kinds of opportunities you are looking for to further your development as a theatre artist. :)</p>
<p>Having a major in lighting design versus a concentration won’t matter as much as you think</p>